[Slade01]

Yeah, I just physically unplugged the power cable and the tubes cooled down enough to stop glowing in 5'ish seconds. Sooooo something is up.

When your tubes are glowing are the filaments lit up, or are the plates actually glowing orange (or both)?

Also there was another post on this thread about a user who received a defective unit - that the LP was just "on" if plugged in, regardless of the on/off button position. So maybe the switch in your unit is defective somehow.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Hello,
I keep hearing how well the unit works with planar headphones.
And unfortunately it is only available on Monoprice.
I saw it on Audiophonics for 1200€ which would be too expensive for me.

Is there any other shop in Europe or is it only available in America?
If so, how do the Europeans do it with the power connection?
I assume that it is designed for 115 volts and not 230 volts.
Do I need a different power supply?

I have read controversies between the original power supply and the Psu.
The original is supposed to be better.

IIRC the stock power supply is universal (110 -240) and all you need do is change the power cord to match your outlet.

I can't help with the 'availability in Europe' question, sorry.

 

[Deleeh]

IIRC the stock power supply is universal (110 -240) and all you need do is change the power cord to match your outlet.

I can't help with the 'availability in Europe' question, sorry.

Great thanks for your answer
I will keep an eye on the good part.
I'll probably have to order it on Monoprice and import it.

 

[dstarr3]

When your tubes are glowing are the filaments lit up, or are the plates actually glowing orange (or both)?

Also there was another post on this thread about a user who received a defective unit - that the LP was just "on" if plugged in, regardless of the on/off button position. So maybe the switch in your unit is defective somehow.

 

[dstarr3]

This definitely very recently started, because in all my previous listening sessions I remember needing to hit the power button and wait for the 30-second warmup process before it was usable. Now it just starts the warmup as soon as it's plugged in, regardless of the switch state.

 

[LCMusicLover]

This definitely very recently started, because in all my previous listening sessions I remember needing to hit the power button and wait for the 30-second warmup process before it was usable. Now it just starts the warmup as soon as it's plugged in, regardless of the switch state.

This doesn't totally surprise me. Waaaayyyyy back in this thread there was a lot of back-and-forth about swapping the stock power supply for an LPS. In the middle of that, there's a post or two from @runeight about how the stock power supply controls the amp during start-up. Seems like a complex start-up sequence and I guess that's the source of the failure.

 

[dstarr3]

This doesn't totally surprise me. Waaaayyyyy back in this thread there was a lot of back-and-forth about swapping the stock power supply for an LPS. In the middle of that, there's a post or two from @runeight about how the stock power supply controls the amp during start-up. Seems like a complex start-up sequence and I guess that's the source of the failure.

Bummer. I hope this hardware failure doesn't manifest in other ways. I guess I'll just leave it unplugged when not in use, but that's still not great that it's not working as intended anymore. I'd love to hear about other people's experiences with this issue and if I can expect other issues down the road.

 

[Slade01]

Bummer. I hope this hardware failure doesn't manifest in other ways. I guess I'll just leave it unplugged when not in use, but that's still not great that it's not working as intended anymore. I'd love to hear about other people's experiences with this issue and if I can expect other issues down the road.

I think if you bought it direct from monoprice and its under warranty - you should get a replacement. That's probably the safest route.

 

[dstarr3]

I think if you bought it direct from monoprice and its under warranty - you should get a replacement. That's probably the safest route.

Unfortunately I bought it second-hand. I have the original box and all the accessories and such, but... it's still second-hand.

 

[ruinedx]

Bummer. I hope this hardware failure doesn't manifest in other ways. I guess I'll just leave it unplugged when not in use, but that's still not great that it's not working as intended anymore. I'd love to hear about other people's experiences with this issue and if I can expect other issues down the road.

This is damage that can occur when the power supply turn on sequence is bypassed in some way. An example of how this might occur is if you had a power failure while the unit was switched on and then the power is restored while the unit is still switched on, use a power strip to turn the unit on and off instead of the button on the unit, or if you use a LPS with it. It would be highly unlikely for this to occur in normal operation of just turning on and off via power button.

 

[dstarr3]

This is damage that can occur when the power supply turn on sequence is bypassed in some way. An example of how this might occur is if you had a power failure while the unit was switched on and then the power is turned back on while the unit is still switched on, use a power strip to turn the unit on and off instead of the button on the unit, or if you use a LPS with it. It would be highly unlikely for this to occur in normal operation of just turning on and off via power button.

Would using something like this at the outlet be fine?

 

[ruinedx]

Would using something like this at the outlet be fine?

No that is an example of something that will cause the damage described earlier if the switch is ever turned on and off while the unit's power switch is in the on position.

Its actually a design fault of this amp model IMO, the main power switch should not have been an on/off hard toggle but rather one of those "always on" soft switches like video game consoles have - as it could then default to "off" state whenever power is received; however, that would have cost more money to implement than what the unit has and goal was to make as affordable as possible.

If you mean, can you use one of these now that is already broken, yes you can but it will be more wear and tear on the tubes.

 

[Slade01]

This is damage that can occur when the power supply turn on sequence is bypassed in some way. An example of how this might occur is if you had a power failure while the unit was switched on and then the power is restored while the unit is still switched on, use a power strip to turn the unit on and off instead of the button on the unit, or if you use a LPS with it. It would be highly unlikely for this to occur in normal operation of just turning on and off via power button.

So would the logical investigation be to replace the stock power supply first and see if that resolves the issue?

 

[ruinedx]

So would the logical investigation be to replace the stock power supply first and see if that resolves the issue?

Nah, the circuit that is damaged is in the main unit. This has happened to several folks already via one of the avenues I described, its a known issue. There is no easy fix, it needs repair.

 

[dstarr3]

Hmm. We did have a couple seconds of power outage sometime last week when a transformer blew in the neighborhood, but the amp wouldn't have been on at the time. I'm very good about turning it off when not in use; these tubes cost me a chunk of money that I don't want to waste by burning the tubes 24/7.